Officials: U.S. Commerce Secretary Suffered Seizure

SAN GABRIEL, Calif. (AP) — Medical records could determine whether U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson will be charged in two weekend fender-benders that led to his hospitalization after police found him slumped behind the wheel of his vehicle in the Los Angeles suburbs.

He suffered a seizure Saturday afternoon, Commerce Department officials said Monday, but it wasn't clear whether the medical episode preceded or followed a hit-and-run collision. Bryson had not had a seizure before, said a department official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the secretary's medical history.

Bryson has a "limited recall of the events," the official said.

The crashes drew attention because of possible health concerns involving a member of President Barack Obama's Cabinet, as well as the challenge investigators face when trying to determine if someone should be held criminally responsible because of adverse health.

Bryson, 68, was driving alone in a Lexus in San Gabriel, a community of about 40,000 northeast of Los Angeles, when he struck the rear of a vehicle that had stopped for a passing train, authorities said.

He spoke briefly with the three occupants and then hit their car again as he departed, investigators said. They followed him while calling police.

He was cited for felony hit-and-run, although he has not been charged.

Bryson then struck a second car in the nearby city of Rosemead, where he was found unconscious in his car, authorities said.